The present invention relates to a locating device for a numeral wheel of a numeral lock, which enables the numeral wheel to be rotarily adjusted and located without totally disengaging from the notched wheel so as to avoid poor location and jumping of the numeral wheel.
A conventional numeral lock is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Several numeral wheels 2a are disposed on the surface of a lock body 1a. Only when the numeral wheels 2a are rotated and located in accordance with a preset lock code of the numeral wheels 2a, the lock body 1a can be unlocked. A spring 5a is used to abut against fixing leaf springs 6a with the protuberances 61a thereof engaged with a recessed edge 42a of a notched wheel 4a so as to create locating feeling during rotation. However, when the user wishes to reset the look code of the numeral wheels 2a, a pushing pin 3a is passed through a hole 11a of the lock body 1a into the interior thereof to push the notched wheel 4a fitted in the numeral wheel 2a. The notched wheel 4a has several projections 41a on the surface for engaging with the recesses formed on inner periphery of the numeral wheel 2a. Accordingly, the lock code can be reset by means of adjusting the engagement position between the projections 41a and the recesses 21a. As mentioned above, after the pushing pin 3a resiliently pushes the notched wheel 4a backward to make the projections 41a thereof disengage from the recesses 21a of the numeral wheel 2a, the numeral wheel 2a can be freely rotated and located at a desired position. Thereafter, the pushing pin 3a is removed from the notched wheel 4a and the notched wheel 4a is resiliently restored to its home position and again fitted into the numeral wheel 2a. Thereby, the lock code of the numeral wheel 2a is changed.
However, according to the above arrangements, after the pushing pin 3a pushes the notched wheel 4a and disengages the same from the numeral wheel 2a, the numeral wheel 2a becomes freely rotatable without any locating force. As a result, when rotating the first numeral wheel, the second one may be rotated therewith and when rotating the second numeral wheel, the third one may be rotated therewith. Therefore, after the user rotates the numeral wheel 2a to a new position and releases the notched wheel 4a, it is quite possible that the projections 41a of the notched wheel 4a are not aligned with the recesses 21a of the numeral wheel 2a to cause jumping of the numeral wheel and result in error of the reset lock code.